Glory of the Broken REPOST
by Nythtak
Summary: Root was the worst place to put a young child whose head was filled with the whispers of a past life. Or perhaps no other place would suit such a girl. SI OC-insert OC!Fem!Sai?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: PLEASE READ THE NOTE. THIS IS RELEVANT/IMPORTANT.**

**A few days ago this story was deleted because, quote: "Main reason for removal: "Not the property of uploading writer Please note we do not allow users to post lyrics to songs they did not write. Exception being works in the US public domain.""**

**However, there are no lyrics used in this chapter. The segments of italicised words have been made up by myself whilst I was writing the chapter. They are not meant to be lyrics, but are intended to 'set the scene' as it were. **

**If you believe that I have used song lyrics, please identify where I have done so, what song I supposedly used, and what part of that song. If you can do so please inform me and I will immediately remove it from the story. Please do not simply report the story. If you contact me on this subject please be assured that I won't get angry with you, as I make it a point to be polite even if I disagree. **

**To new readers, I apologise for this but I don't want the story to be deleted again. I hope you read on regardless and enjoy the story.**

**To previous readers,** thank** you for reviewing/favouriting/alerting the other story, and I hope you can do so again for this one. **

Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto_, though you could say I own the OC.

_Prologue_

**. . .**

_Give me your power, your pain, your glory!_

_Give me your riches, your beloved, your detested!_

_Let me take and destroy all that you are,_

_And I shall build you a mountain of blood._

**. . .**

The girl who would one day be known as Sai was born screaming.

The baby thrashed in the nurse's arms as much as her tiny body was capable of, skin flushed red with exertion from the force of her cries. Worried, the nurse looked her body over for anything that could be causing pain – it was common for babies to cry when they were born, but not like _this –_yet there wasn't a scratch on her. Hoping to stop the screams she handed the newborn over to the mother, believing her presence might comfort the baby.

The woman took the child with a grimace upon her delicate face. She pulled the screaming child closer to her body and awkwardly attempted to sooth her, shushing gently. When the baby cried on heedlessly, impatience flashed through her grey eyes and she raised her soft-palmed hand.

_Slap! _

The cries halted as the baby blinked in shock. Letting out a satisfied smile the woman hummed contentedly to the child, oblivious to the appalled look the nurse sent her way. Slowly, the baby opened her eyes and peered up with an unnerving silence at the young mother.

Before she went to bed that night the nurse would swear that there was something unnatural about that look, something that spoke of knowledge no child should have. She would never have any idea how correct she was.

**. . .**

_Cruelty is as cruelty does,_

_And familiarity does not always breed contempt._

_**. . .**_

The girl who would one day be known as Sai was a very quiet child. The sister of the mother had quickly caught on to that fact, and often found herself curious.

Children were supposed to be loud and active and messy, weren't they? That was what all the baby books had said. When she'd learnt of the woman's pregnancy she'd read a lot of books in preparation. She hadn't met many young children but she knew how they were supposed to act. They were meant to make cute babbling sounds and crawl around in search of adventure. They were meant to put everything in their mouths and cry for attention. But the girl…the girl just _watched. _

She'd sit wherever she'd been placed by the woman or the sister and simply stare out at the world around her. When the sister tried to play with her she'd stiffen, before lolling bonelessly in her hold. It was like the girl was a marionette without its strings, its master having abandoned it, simply lying still unless prompted.

But the sister got used to it. She was lonely, and it was nice having company other than the woman. The staring may have made her nervous, but she could pretend the baby was just curious. Truthfully, the sister wouldn't have minded so much if those eyes weren't so flat. There was nothing in them, no hint of happiness or sadness or excitement or _anything. _

Once, the sister had a fiancé. She loved the man like the moon loved the sun, basking in his bright smile and comforting hugs. They had planned to marry that summer when he was struck down by illness. She'd done everything she could but he just kept getting _sicker, _and she couldn't afford to hire a medic-nin when the village doctor pronounced him incurable. And so she'd watched him die little by little, day by day, until all that was left was a corpse of the man she loved. Those green eyes she'd once felt she could stare into for hours were drained of life, a void of nothingness that threatened to suck her in.

No baby should have eyes like the dead.

**. . .**

The boy saw the girl when she was three years old. She was a tiny thing, doll-like in her pale skin and pretty features, black hair curling around her chin. She wore a pink dress and white sandals, and there was a green ribbon in her hair. It matched the one her mother wore as the woman stood beside the girl, talking to the boy's mother.

The boy peered out around his mother and stared at the girl in curiosity. Her eyes turned to his and he flushed at being caught. He tried a hesitant smile but she just stared back blankly, causing the smile to falter. Then she blinked and slowly the corners of her mouth twitched up in what could loosely be called a smile. To the boy it was a good enough.

He trotted over to her and said happily, "Hey, you wanna go play?"

The girl blinked at him, eyes cutting to the woman who waved a dismissive hand at the silent inquiry. Apparently taking this as permission the girl turned to him and nodded.

He grinned and grabbed her hand – decided to ignore the way she flinched back minutely – and ran over to a set of swings in the nearby park. It wasn't much of a park; the swing set was rusted, red paint peeling and faded, and the see-saw creaked loudly when it was used, and that was it. But he liked the swings and was soon flying through the air, peals of laughter leaving him.

Then the boy looked at the girl. She was staring at the swing with an odd expression, one corner of her mouth pulled down and her head tilted.

"_C'mon, let's play! The swings are the best! I bet you can't go higher than me. Go on, try-!"_

"_-Try better, you ungrateful brat! I do all this for you, I buy you clothes and food and give you everything you could ever want, and this is how you repay-"_

"_-pay the debt, miss. You shouldn't have taken out a loan if you couldn't pay us, should you? You don't want my men and me to get angry, now do you? W-what are you doing?! __**S-stop!**__ Get away-"_

"_-away from me, you monster! I've always know, I've always see it. No one else saw, no one but me. And now they're all dead, aren't they? 'Little angel' – what a fucking lie! They all said I was jealous, that __**precious, perfect **__little __**angel **__could never hurt anyone. Fucking idiots to think-"_

"_-think I love you. I've never seen such…such art, such beauty amidst carnage. Let me stay by your side and watch you make your art, please! My heart-"_

"_-heart was nicked by some shrapnel. Not that it matters – the blast all but shredded her. Poor girl, she ain't got long left. Wait a sec…hey, can you hear me? Are you alive? Shit! I thought she was dead! Get some damn-" _

_**Black – Nothing - Dead.**_

Her face contorted suddenly and she _screamed, _a harrowing sound that had the boy flinching away in fright. The girl clutched her head and fell to her knees, still crying in agony out as if she were dying, fingers digging into her skin.

Panicked the boy stumbled off the swing and approached her, placing his hands on her shoulders. He noticed she was shaking. "H-hey, what's going on? Are you- are you alright?"

The girl shuddered once more before the screams cut off abruptly. Achingly slowly she looked up from the ground, letting her arms drop to her sides. He stepped away from her without even realising it.

Her nails had pierced the skin of her forehead and cheeks, causing rivets of blood to run down her paper-white skin. The deep gashes and bright red liquid made a gruesome sight, but it wasn't what made his legs shake. No it was the unhinged grin pulling her mouth too wide, splitting her face like someone had taken a knife and sliced it there. Her black _black _eyes were wild with some unnamed emotion, impossibly alive and he couldn't bring himself to look away, drawn in by those eyes even as his body warned him to _run. _They were beautiful in their horror, so much _more _and _real _in their blunt life.

"_Alive. I'm alive," _she whispered gleefully, though the boy couldn't understand the foreign words.

Then her eyes shut and her too-wide grin dropped, and she crumpled.

**. . .**

The bandits came in the dead of night, steps silent to the ears of the unwary. They entered the houses and slaughtered the men, and gathered the women and children in the middle of the village. A daring few tried to resist but their improvised weapons were no match for swords and hammers and superior skill, and they fell all too swiftly.

The sister clutched the girl close to her in a futile attempt to shield her from the approaching harm, flinching away from the leering stares of the bandits. She didn't try to convince herself that someone would save them, that the blood-soaked men would leave them alone once they had gathered all the money and food they wanted. Their village was small and remote; no one would be coming to their aid in the nick of time.

She was right. The bandits herded them together and roughly tied their hands with old rope, culling any woman over forty from the group. Children screamed and called for their parents, and if they weren't silenced by their mothers or another kind-hearted woman one of the men would beat them until they fell silent. The sister could only assume that the bandits planned to sell them – she'd heard horror stories of it happening to young women who sought a better life in a large village, but had never imagined it could ever happen to her.

Somehow she had managed to remain by both the girl and the woman, and she looked to them only to freeze. There was a deranged smile on the woman's lips, and her bound hands were curled around the hilt of a kitchen knife. The sister gasped as she realised what the woman was planning to do. "No, don't-"

It was too late. The woman screamed and charged towards the nearest bandit, alerting him with the sound. He spun to face her, brown eyes wide, but quick reflexes allowed him to catch the woman's wrist and halt the knife's descent towards his face. Anger quickly replaced his shock and his grip tightened until the woman's face contorted with pain, fingers loosening on the knife. It fell with a _thud _to the dirt.

The sister couldn't look. She turned to the girl with the notion of providing comfort, knowing all too well the fate the woman would soon suffer, and found herself stiffening once more in fear. The girl had moved away from the cowering group, separating herself from the herd and approaching the wolves fearlessly. They didn't notice to her, too focussed on the hysterical woman.

Delicately, the girl bent down and picked up the fallen knife.

"You bitch!" the bandit who the woman had attacked snarled, "I'm gonna-"

"You were holding the knife wrong," the girl said calmly, and the sister realised this was the first time she'd heard the child speak. Her voice was as flat as her eyes, though the sister thought they seemed just the slightest more attentive, more _alive._

The bandit and the woman gaped at her whilst serious black eyes bore into their own. The girl switched her grip on the knife so that the blade ran parallel to her wrist, and held it up as if in demonstration. "This way you get more leverage, and more force behind your attack. For example," she plunged the knife into the bandit's upper thigh, and he collapsed with an agonised scream. The girl gave a small, satisfied smile. "That was much more effective, wasn't it?"

The sister flinched away when those eyes flickered to meet hers. What…what was happening? How could a child do such a thing? Children were…children were innocent, weren't they?

"Monster," one of the other women whispered fearfully. The sister couldn't bring herself to disagree.

The girl somehow heard her, for she turned to the other women. And odd, unnatural smile spread across her face, eyes glinting with a terrible knowledge. "You say that as if it's a bad thing."

**. . .**

_Do I disgust you, oh innocent of heart?_

_Does your morality tremble in my presence?_

_Does your soul quiver in disgust?_

**. . .**

The bandit with a scar blinding his eye walked towards the girl who had so severely injured one of his men, and he couldn't help but grin. He'd gotten rather bored of the routine his life had fallen into, and this little _interruption _was one he approached with avid interest.

He came to a halt in front of the girl, towering over her tiny frame. She couldn't be older than three or four, yet she'd managed to down a full-grown man. He could tell that she wasn't especially strong – the wound wasn't exceptionally deep, half of the blade protruding from the thigh – but she'd managed to strike in an especially vulnerable spot, likely an artery going by the blood loss. The bandit wouldn't be surprised if the downed man would bleed out in the next few minutes.

She stared up at him fearlessly, mouth curving into a small smile that spoke of nothing more than childish innocence. He wondered how a smile could look so fake yet so real at the same time; a mask made flesh. "Hello," she greeted politely.

Amusement thrumming through him he rumbled good-naturedly, "Hello." He crouched before her, considering the strange girl. His eyes darted from her to his groaning subordinate, before focussing his attention on her once more. "Aren't you going to finish him off?"

The girl examined him. He felt like she was attempting to strip away his skin and view the thoughts that lay beneath. It was a fascinating feeling. "Does his life hold no value?" she countered his question.

The bandit shook his head. "No. I expect a certain level of competence from my men, and he's proven himself…lacking."

"You speak well for a thug," she commented bluntly.

He couldn't help but laugh at her audacity. Not even the bravest of his men dared to speak to him like that, and he found this small girl a breath of fresh air. He clapped a hand on her shoulder and observed the instinctual flinch her body made despite not a flicker of emotion disrupting her expression. "I can't decide if you're absurdly brave or obnoxiously stupid," he said lightly, "Not many have the balls to talk to me like that – figuratively speaking. And I speak well because I wasn't always a thug, but that's a story for another time."

"I've always liked stories," the girl said idly before turning to look at the bleeding man. "I haven't killed anyone with these hands. Will it be like the whispers say?" she wondered quietly, tilting her head.

In an abrupt movement she sliced the knife across the bleeding man's throat, opening up a red ravine in its wake. The man choked on his own blood, desperately trying to get air in his lungs that would not come, his face draining of colour and leaving a sickly white pallor behind. He thrashed for a few, agonising seconds before his terrified eyes glazed over in the nothingness of death.

The girl hummed to herself and gave the bandit a smile. "The whispers were right again."

**. . .**

_The dead would breathe and the living would rot,_

_But should the sky tear the stars from its beloved hold_

_And the snakes start to sing of a land of sin, _

_Then you have truly fallen to your madness._

**. . .**

_I wanted to write something creepy, dark and gritty; this is the product. Hope you like!_

_This is an OC-insert that's supposed to be a little different. Rather than having a fully conscious past life mind instead there's a (somewhat) normal child who grows up with hints of a past life twisting her mind – the Whispers, which are expanded on a little better later. The Whispers aren't a separate entity or split personality, more of a leak of past memories I guess. The scene with the flashbacks (which are all people talking to the OC at some point in her life – she was _not _a good person) is the one moment when she's fully past life!OC; after that she's a mixture of the reincarnation. _

_Why is it fem!Sai? Well, originally I was curious about doing an SI!Sai, since I've never seen it done and Sai tends to be a main character in only romance-centred fanfics, at least from what the first ten or so pages of fanfiction . net show. But then as I was imaging and writing this the OC _felt _like a girl, I that makes sense. I'm not saying she's a girly girl of anything, it just seemed to fit better as a girl._

_I could probably just make her a full-out OC, but I'll stick to this for now. Part of the reason why she's Sai is that the Whispers _think _she is; one thing you have to remember about them is that they can be wrong, though this doesn't come up until Chapter 3. _

_Please review :) _


	2. Chapter 2

_Warning(s): Violence, swearing, _

When the boss told them that the short, skinny kid standing next to him was coming with them, Ryota wasn't the only one who thought he'd gone crazy.

A group of bandits was no place for a kid, especially not a girl. She'd get in the way, get herself killed or get _them _killed if they tried to protect her. Kids needed looking after and were always whining about one thing or another; they couldn't survive on the road, constantly on the lookout for enemies. She'd be just dead weight, a responsibility they could really do without.

But you didn't argue with the boss. After he cut the tongue out of the sorry bastard's mouth the last time someone questioned his orders, no one was willing to try it. Besides, the boss had never led them wrong in all the years they'd followed him. Why would this be any different?

So yeah, they let the kid tag along. It was kind of creepy how she just stood there whilst they loaded the women and kids into the wagons, not protesting or crying or anything. Ryota was pretty sure her mother had to be with them, but the kid didn't give any indication that she was bothered. She ended up standing with the boss whilst Ryota and thirty or so guys searched the houses for supplies, money and anything valuable they might be able to sell.

When they set off to the meeting point they'd set up with the slave traders Ryota figured she'd get exhausted and start whining to be carried soon enough. A couple of hours in he drifted over to where she was walking along next to the boss, having to take two steps to match his one. Seeing her tiny frame next to the much taller man was kind of funny, especially when the boss was happily chatting to her, but Ryota didn't think the boss would appreciate him commenting on it so he kept quiet.

A few months later Ryota was still wondering why the kid was with them. He'd heard about what she'd done to Jiro, stabbing him in the leg without the slightest hesitation before cutting his throat, and _damn _if that wasn't creepy as fuck.

He steered clear of her after that, like most of the other bandits did, except the boss and that weird ex-shinobi guy the kid had convinced to teach her – he'd seen them doing those kata things real early in the morning. Ryota didn't like the idea of a shinobi being in their group, but the boss apparently got a kick out of it for some reason, so there wasn't anything they could do about it.

The girl wasn't as much trouble as he thought she'd be. She'd struggle to keep up the pace after a while and had to be carried by the boss, especially in the beginning, but he could almost see her endurance built up as the months passed and soon she was trotting along happily. She'd help the guy whose turn it was to cook sometimes, and she'd gotten good enough with her kunai that she could put it through most animal's eyes at a fair distance, and Ryota gained a new appreciation for rabbit that hadn't been pulverised. He still thought she was creepy with that constant smile of hers, but she wasn't a total pain in the ass so the kid was okay in his books.

It wasn't until they were set to attack another small town that she truly earned her place amongst them. It was pretty routine – cause a stir, get them good and scared, kill the men and capture the women and kids – so when it turned out that there were a few Iwa-nin returning from a mission they hadn't been prepared.

The shinobi were only genin, probably in their pre-teens by the looks of it, but they were still damn feisty. The girl of the genin knew some fancy jutsu that sent spikes of rock protruding from the ground, killing a couple of the guys and injuring four others. Fortunately it seemed to exhaust her since she didn't do it again and kept to throwing shuriken at them, like her teammates though one boy sure liked kicking them in the head.

Then the kid arrived. One minute Ryota and the twenty men under his command were getting their asses kicked, the next a tantō was sticking through the brunet genin's neck. He hung on the blade for a few moments, eyes wide with shock and pain as he choked for breath, before the kid removed her sword with a slick spray of red and attacked his gaping teammates.

The Iwa girl didn't react quick enough, barely managing to flinch back as a foot smashed into her chest. She flew back a couple of feet and brought up a kunai in defence, but then the tantō sliced through her wrist, forcing her to drop the kunai with a shriek. It wasn't a clean cut – the girl's hand hung limply to her wrist by a few meaty strands of flesh and muscle - and she forgot her training in favour of clutching it to her chest, only to cry out again when she pressed down on what must have been cracked or even broken ribs.

That cry turned into a gurgle when the tantō thrust upwards under her chin and into her mouth cavity, before she was kicked off to bleed out on the ground.

The last remaining genin, face pale and trembling violently, spun on his heel and _ran _when the tantō-wielding child turned to him. With a casual flick of her wrist a kunai – the one the genin girl had been holding, Ryota realised – was sent flying at the back of his head, entering with a dull _thunk _and sending him tumbling to the ground like a puppet with his strings cut.

Throughout the entire thing Ryota and his men hadn't been able to do anything more than watch in horrified fascination. The entire time it was almost like she was playing with them, giving the girl genin a chance to recover and attack when she kicked her, rather than just stabbing when the Iwa-nin was open and vulnerable.

It seemed unreal, watching a kid who couldn't be older than six decimating shinobi twice her age, even if he factored in all the intense training she got up to. She and that missing-nin went off on their own sometimes and returned with blood on their clothes and weapons, but it never really registered before now that such a young kid was a killer already, and a damn good one.

And she was s_till _smiling that same serene grin, like she was enjoying some joke no one else seemed to get. She picked her way over to the cooling bodies and with an almost obscene gentleness pulled the hitai-ate from their heads, having to remove the kunai from the boy-who-ran's head. Neatly folding each one she tucked them into her oversized shirt.

Ryota suppressed a shiver and decided to just be glad she was on their side.

**. . .**

_Tantō – Japanese short sword commonly used by samurai in feudal Japan. Usually between about 10-30cm long. _

_Why can Sai kill three genin when she's five_?_ She's been training intensively with a missing-nin of at least high chuunin level, the Whispers are very good at pointing out weaknesses in opponents, the genin were _genin _(just out of the Academy, civilian background, weak) and they were put off-guard since they were being attacked by a kid, who they've been taught to protect and think of as harmless._

_Short chapter is short. The next one is much longer, and I'll probably post it soon. _


	3. Chapter 3

The mission was a fairly simple one; track and eliminate.

For the past several years a group of bandits had been plaguing the land on the eastern border of Hi no Kuni. They would ransack small villages overnight, always killing the men and burning the houses once they'd removed all valuables. The women and children disappeared, presumably sold into the illusive slave trade that persisted to hide in the shadows of the underground, flinching away from ninja inspection and so managing to survive. It was only due to the fact that Hi no Kuni had very little to do with slavery that the forbidden trade hadn't been eradicated by the more kind-hearted of those in power. Interfering in the affairs of other lands was frowned upon, although exceptions were usually made in the case of missing-nin. In terms of assassinations, espionage and blackmail…well, if you couldn't keep it in the shadows, you didn't deserve the title of ninja.

These bandits, however, were well within Hi no Kuni's jurisdiction. Usually the small bands that roamed the land were little more the annoyances to the wealthier – and thus _relevant _– citizens, and so were often ignored at the expense of those unable to fight back against them. This particular band however had managed to garner an unfortunate amount of attention in their audacious murder of the daimyo's nephew.

The teenager had been travelling with only a few samurai for protection, and had been ambushed by the group. Several bandits died in the attack but ultimately they had won the short battle at least partially by virtue of greater numbers and surprise. The victory itself had been largely attributed to – what investigations had revealed – an assailant with an admirably precise aim, sneaking what appeared to be a short blade between the kinks of the samurai armour and very near always striking vital spots, or at least ones that severely wounded the men. It was suspected that a ninja might have been responsible, which was one of the reasons the daimyo hadn't sought retribution with his own forces, but instead hired the services of Konohagakure-nin.

Another reason was that the leader of the group was of some interest. His former address was Sakagami Ryo and he was the dishonoured second son of a noble in the daimyo's court, disowned due to the cold-blooded murder of his younger brother. He made the bandits more of a threat than the usual; with a high-class education behind him and military training – though not ninja – he organised his group remarkably well, eluding several attempts at capture over the years, even from a low-level chuunin team who had never been recovered.

The team that had been assigned to kill the bandit group were far from ordinary chuunin. The mission was to be viewed as a training exercise for several green members of Root, and it was their first expedition outside of Konoha for longer than a few days. For this mission they had been assigned temporary aliases for the necessity of communication, and the man designated as Hiroki was acting as leader to the four-man team, though the oldest of the three was nine-years-old so they could hardly be called men.

Still, they had been deemed skilled enough by their instructors that they were ready to be sent on this mission. It would be the first kill of two of the boys, and Hiroki was ordered to make note of any hesitation on their part that would need to be remedied. The large number that they would kill should aid in the desensitising process, and the nature of the mission encouraged the mind-set that it was a positive thing for them to kill in the name of Konoha; enhancing the distinction between Us and Them with uncivilised, vulgar and supposedly 'evil' bandits as the template of 'Them'.

This method was found to have a higher success rate than Hiroki's own; he'd been ordered to torture a potential Iwa spy slowly to death. Whilst he himself had come out unscathed many of the other Root members had regressed in their training, becoming overly emotional or oppositely traumatised. Those who could not be salvaged were discarded.

Hiroki ran slightly ahead of the small team, setting his pace at one which the boys could match without exhausting themselves needlessly. They'd had a vague idea of Ryo's last known location but had soon had to rely on rumours to narrow down their search. Fortunately – at least on their part – the bandits had attacked another minor village just recently, and when the Root-nin arrived their tracks, however well hidden, were still discernable. A day later and they had almost caught up to the group.

Hiroki raised his hand in the signal to halt when he caught sight of a flicker of light through the trees. It was night, around two or three in the morning, and due to the fact that it was early November there was very little visibility; any light stood out like a beacon. If it weren't for the fact that the four ninja had received training in utilising their other senses they would've been blind.

Remaining amongst the higher branches the Root team stalked closer to what was evidently a camp site. Around twenty simple tents had been set up in four ordered rows, each tent large enough to fit two or three men. In one corner of the clearing several oxen were loosely tied to thick branches dug into the ground, four wagons holding various supplies settled nearby. In the centre of the clearing there was a large gap where a campfire was burning, and five men sat on logs set up around it. Three more men patrolled down the rows of tents, and four stood at each point of the clearing's edge, their distance from the campfire allowing their vision to adjust to the darkness and thus be effective in watching for enemies.

Hiroki noted their efficiency, before giving the order to kill whilst he observed. The large number and armed men clearly identified them as the bandits they'd been ordered to kill, if the rough symbol painted on several of the tents wasn't enough of an indication. It depicted a howling wolf's head – the signature of the arrogant group of bandits that they often left behind after ravaging a village.

The sentries showed that they were more intelligent that Hiroki had thought, but the Root team had planned for this and each ninja knew what to do. Hiroki would only intervene if he deemed it necessary; if the three died on a mission as simple as this they wouldn't be deemed suitable for advancement from recruit to a full-fledged member, and unless they had some particular skill that allowed for leniency they would be left to their fate. This pressure would allow them to unlock their potential as a ninja, and if they didn't then they weren't worth keeping alive any longer.

The three boys darted towards the camp, steps silent upon the branches. The boy who had been dubbed Takao pierced the hearts of the men standing at the north and east edges without the bandits ever being aware of his existence, blending in with the shadows to the point that all which could be seen was the momentary flash of a blade. Hiroki noted that this would have to be remedied; something as brief as that could give away your position and allow the enemy time to react. Dulling the shine on a kunai was hardly an impossibility, or even simply tilting the blade in such a way that light wouldn't glint off of it.

Another boy, Keiji, struck the men in the south and west with precise blows to the backs of the neck, neatly breaking their necks. A simple genjutsu muffled the sound of snapping bone, and both boys quickly pulled the corpses a little deeper into the surrounding woods in order to avoid immediate detection.

The third boy, Shin, was the fastest and so went after the men patrolling the tents. Shin ran down the rows, avoiding the few torches that had been set up, and silenced the bandits from behind with his tantō. The tents were tall enough that the other men couldn't see over, and so the deaths of their comrades went unnoticed. He caught the bodies as they fell, spinal column severed at the neck, and with the aid of Keiji who set up another genjutsu erasing the sound he dragged them into the woods. Thus far, the operation had lasted no longer than thirty seconds.

As was often the case, it took no more than a stroke of bad luck for the mission to, if not fail, grow in complication. A flock of birds took off in the west, gaining the attention of a bored guard with eyesight slightly better than his fellows. This would've gone without consequence if he hadn't noticed that one of the sentries, a close friend of his, wasn't at his post. He may have passed this off as the other bandit taking a piss if it weren't for the fact that this man was rather paranoid, and took only a moment of deliberation to raise the alarm – a small but loud bell that he happened to be in charge of.

The three Root recruits froze for a few crucial moments as bandits tumbled out of their tents, most in the armour they'd gone to sleep in whilst others wore only shirts and trousers, but all armed. It was enough time for them to be spotted, and even half asleep the bandits were quick to identify their enemy, and immediately charged at the blank-masked boys with bloodthirsty yells.

The three immediately fell into formation with their backs to each other. Shin lashed out at his opponents with quick strikes before retreating back, his tantō unobstructed by the leather armour many wore, and findings its way around the stronger metal. Takao unleashed his collection of kunai and shuriken, piercing soft flesh until the bandits were overwhelmed, and with a flick of the attached wire the weapons returned to his hands. Keiji preferred to ensnare his attackers in low-level genjutsu that distracted the men for just long enough that he could dart forwards and either crush their throats of break their necks with his surprisingly strong blows.

The one-sidedness of the battle was quite clear until the bandits appeared to wise up, no longer attacking individually but instead working together in their own formation. Ryo was the one directing them now as he barked out orders, remaining out of the line of fire for the most part.

Four men surround Keiji just as he'd dispatched a bandit, cutting him off from his team whilst they attacked at once. Surprised, the boy didn't have time to make any hand seals before he had to twist away from the sword swipes. He avoided the strikes to his front and sides, but the man who approached from behind lodged his broadsword deep within Keiji's shoulder, cutting to the bone and leaving a heavily bleeding wound when the bandit removed his sword with a vicious grin.

Confident in their victory, the bandit was too slow to avoid the kick that slammed into his side, shattering his ribs and piercing his organs with shards of bone. Keiji landed with a slight stumble, grimacing momentarily as his shoulder was jolted, before his face smoothed out to its usual blankness. The three other men fell to a swarm of kunai and Shin's tantō, allowing Keiji to regain his bearings and adjust to the pain.

More confident with the knowledge that the three weren't infallible, the bandit attacked with vigour. They had a clear strategy; separate the three boys. Conscious of this the Root members huddled closer together and remained on the defensive, resulting in far less bandits being killed or even seriously injured since they were limited in their movements to primarily counter-attacking.

A giant of a man who favoured a hulking hammer managed to drive Takao to the side where five bandits converged on him. The least flexible of the three and worst at taijutsu, Takao had difficulties avoiding all their attacks from every side, having to use his weapons to entangle and misdirect the strikes. A blow to the back of the head sent him pitching forwards before he recovered himself just in time to avoid an axe to the neck, kicking off the ground so he flipped backwards away from the swing. He returned the favour with a kunai through the grizzled man's eye, piercing his brain.

Hiroki stood at the edge of the clearing, watching all this with analytical eyes. There were less than twenty-five bandits left out of the original sixty or so, but the rate of battle had slowed as the more talented bandits proved themselves. A few had obvious ninja training, though no more than Academy level, whilst several seemed to be former samurai. Though somewhat skilled none showed evidence of the brutal efficiency the reports had shown.

Then, as if in response to his thoughts, a new combatant entered the fight. They darted out from the treeline across from him and approached rapidly, slipping between the bandits unnoticeably until they were directly behind Takao. Hiroki realised they must be a young child; they were shorter than Takao who was seven, dressed in all dark colours that obscured their gender.

Takao sensed the child, spinning around just in time to meet their blade with his own kunai. A fraction of a second later the child lashed out at the side of his knee. Though the impact wasn't particularly strong it struck just the right spot to make him lose his balance momentarily, his stance wavering. Taking advantage of this his opponent knocked his kunai aside with one hand just far enough to then drive their tantō into his throat, before kicking him away to fall weakly to the ground, clutching the wound.

Ryo, who had spent more time observing the fight than participating, grinned at the black-haired child. "It's about time you showed up. I was starting to think you'd leave us to die," he said cheerily.

The child examined their blade, turning it slowly as blood glistened along its length. "I considered it, but I was curious about Konoha-nin. Do they bleed the same, I wondered."

"Konoha-nin, huh? They must be after us because of that rich kid, daimyo's…nephew, was it?" Ryo said, apparently deciding to ignore the strange comment. "I wish I'd known who he was before we attacked," he lamented, scratching his cheek.

The child tilted their head, short black hair swaying with the movement as they stared down at the masked face of Takao. "Root…" they murmured softly.

Hiroki stiffened. The village origin of the ninja was quite obvious since they were within Hi no Kuni, but there was no way the child could possibly know of Root. It was a secret known only to the upper echelons of Konohagakure ninja, a shadow organisation whose actions, if known, were always attributed to the ANBU as a whole, not their specific sect. How could a child living with a group of common bandits possibly have come across this information?

He could see that they hadn't been trained specifically by a ninja village; their movements didn't show any indication of any Academy style and weren't quite swift enough. It was the simple economy of movement that allowed them to create the illusion of speed; this he saw clearly when they engaged Keiji. Rather than dodging all of the boy's strikes they often carefully misdirected blows with their palm or reduced Keiji's momentum by interrupting strikes. They could obviously read Keiji's movements very well, managing to react near pre-emptively and preparing for attacks that had not yet been made with startling accuracy. Any wounds they received were minor due to their method of avoiding strikes _just enough _for it to skim past them, or leave only bruising and scratches.

Then, when they did attack it was always to particularly sensitive areas. The joints, the throat, the fingers – already three had been broken on Keiji's right hand and two on his left – and the wound on his shoulder. The breaks prevented Keiji from using his genjutsu to gain the advantage, and with the child widening his wound with every chance they got blood loss was beginning to effect his performance. He was slower and his strikes were weaker; the child couldn't be classified as his superior in skill but they were capitalising on his weakness whilst minimalizing injuries to themselves with such efficiency that soon they would be the victor.

If the child received the training the three boys had, how powerful would they become?

Decision made, Hiroki intervened. He kicked the child away from Keiji and the other combatants, and approved when no sound of pain left their lips despite the cracking ribs he felt beneath the blow. The child landed heavily on a tent several metres away, the momentum allowing them to roll back onto their feet with a stumble.

Black eyes stared at him unerringly as he walked closer. The child's features were androgynous like many in that age range, though their cheeks lacked the chubbiness most had unless they were either starved or trained from a very young age. Their skin was unusually pale for someone who spent so much time outdoors, making the blank dark eyes look all the more startling as they watched him.

"How do you know of Root, and who taught you to fight?" Hiroki enquired, taking note of the lack of stance. The child made no move to attack nor defend, arms limp at their sides and relaxed. It was almost as if they knew there was no point in attempting to fight Hiroki; the outcome would be the same either way.

The child considered his question for a few moments, a small smile curving their lips. Hiroki thought it odd that this smile looked more emotionless than the mask of any Root member. "The whispers in my head which speak of truth and survival, the dying wanderer who knew no home that he had not betrayed, and the man that points his dog to battle," they answered in a sombre voice.

The possibility of insanity didn't deter Hiroki; in fact, recruits who were unstable often responded better to training than the sane ones. From what they said he could infer that the "wanderer" was likely a missing-nin, and if the child could be considered to be the "dog" then the "man" may be Ryo. "What was the name of this missing-nin?"

"The dying wanderer gave no name, wishing only for the eternal life of a legacy and the death of a body. He was granted his wish."

Did that mean the missing-nin was dead? Was he the one who revealed the existence of Root? Hiroki dismissed those thoughts as unimportant for now, though he made a mental note of them, and focussed on the child. They would definitely be an asset to Danzō-sama once they were properly trained, so he would not kill them. However, Hiroki had never been chosen as part of the recruitment team. This role was delegated to those skilled in emotional manipulation, displaying a mask that would attract children and the occasional teenager to their cause.

Each year the small team would visit the more rundown orphanages of Konoha and select between ten and thirty potential Root members who showed the most promise, assured that they would not be missed. Additional children were collected from Hi no Kuni, again those who wouldn't be noticed missing. Often they were 'rescued' from situations that would make them grateful to Danzō-sama and so hasten the indoctrination process.

This case was not unique, as children had been recruited from missions before, but Hiroki himself had never done so. He decided that the straight-forward approach was most suitable due to the age of the child. "You have two choices. Either I kill you now, or you become a ninja of Konohagakure and pledge your loyalty to Danzō-sama."

The child tilted their head as they watched him, and there was a flash of _something_ in those eyes before the small smile that had yet to fall widened. "The whispers say I will become a ninja of Konohagakure and serve your Danzō-sama."

Hiroki nodded. He flashed through the six hand signs of the genjutsu _Makuragi no Yume, _and the child slumped over into unconsciousness. He slung them over his shoulder and made his way over to the two remaining Root recruits. The bandit numbers had dwindled to four including Ryo, and whilst Shin remained firm in his attack Keiji was lagging, barely keeping ahead of his opponents due to the wounds inflicted upon him largely by the child Hiroki now carried.

Hiroki watched as Shin dispatched two bandits with rapid jabs of his tantō, and then turned to support Keiji by knocking the tall man into Keiji's fist which ploughed through the bandit's unguarded head. The two converged on Ryo who fought them off with his katana, his jaw tightening under the pressure as he grew desperate in keeping the ninja off him, the high quality of his armour working to keep him alive.

"Girl, get over here!" Ryo yelled, fear colouring his tone. Hiroki presumed he was referring to the child and noted the gender. Considering gender biases it was interesting that she'd received combat-training from a male ninja, as outside of the Academy any ninja training with females tended to be focussed on kunoichi-specific skills.

When no aid was forthcoming Ryo took his attention off the fight for a crucial moment – it was all Shin needed. The former bandit leader's eyes had just flickered in Hiroki's direction before Shin leapt into the air behind him, driving his tantō down through the middle of his shoulders into the soft organs beneath. The pain and shock barely twisted his features before he collapsed.

Shin and Keiji panted heavily for a few moments until they registered Hiroki's presence. Instantly the two straightened despite the injuries, saying in unison, "Hiroki-taichō."

"Seal Takao's and Ryo's corpse in separate scrolls," Hiroki ordered Shin, before he turned to Keiji. "Apply basic first aid to your wounds that will last until we reach the base. I expect us to be back by the afternoon at the latest."

"Hai, Hiroki-taichō!"

**. . .**

_Makuragi no Yume – Sleeper's dream (couldn't think of a better name). This is a genjutsu that simply knocks the subject unconscious by tricking the mind into believing it is dreaming, therefore inducing the dreaming state. Easily resisted by a shinobi with chuunin-rank chakra reserves or above, as their chakra flow is strong enough to disrupt the jutsu. _

_-taichō – captain_

_Hi no Kuni – Land of Fire_

_Daimyo – (in the narutoverse) the leader of a country, specifically Hi no Kuni for this chapter. The Hokage and Konoha technically are ruled by him. _

_I thought I'd answer a few questions that might come up._

Why can Sai kill and fight Root members when she's six?_ Much of the same reasons as last chapter, only with more training and experience under her belt. The Root members are also only high genin to low chuunin level, as well as already being injured (Takao, for example, had a concussion). The whispers guide a lot of her actions - where the best place to strike is, predicting what the enemy is going to do - whilst her training with the 'dying wanderer' supplements that._

_I don't want to make Sai absurdly powerful but she _is _strong. I hope that came across okay, if not then let me know and I'll do my best to fix it._

_Please leave a review, and suggestions for pairings are always welcome though in no way will it be the focus of the story. Thanks for all the reviews so far :)_


End file.
